Remember that most mines are in remote places and most laborer jobs there don't require a college (or even a high school degree.)

Considering that West Va. has an avg income pf $22,000 per person, and that parts of Kentucky are even worse (same with rural colorado), mining is about the best job there is.

I used to work out in rural idaho, a place where there is a lot of mining and ranching. I worked for the federal government, and was a bit shocked when I saw that my salary would "only" be ~ $25,000 a year. But I was instantly one of the wealthier people in my town, and gov't jobs were prized for their stability. My supervisor was making $40,000 a year and you would've thought that he owned the town.

Amazing he can afford to have internet service and you are educated enough to use it. If you can't read how did you get to this site and understand what the thread was about? Not a very good joke, try again.

quantum

RE: How much do coal miners make anyway?8/14/2007 7:33PM - in reply to ok, cool

Most of the coal mines now in West Va., Kentucky are strip mines - still a dangerous and tough occupation - but the miners don't go underground in a strip mine - the coal is reached literally by blowing the top off of mountains. This, of course, causes all sorts of environmental problems.

Old Man by the Sea

RE: How much do coal miners make anyway?8/14/2007 7:58PM - in reply to Yank

No matter what salary a coal miner makes, it is not nearly enough. In the summer of 1956, I spent several months working underground in a gold mine. A coal mine is much worse because of its volatility and the gases but being underground in any mine is not a pleasant place to be. Mining is very hard physical work. I dreaded going underground each day due to the conditions there. Since I was usually at the 200 or 300 foot levels it was cold, wet, damp and there was a great deal of dust. I did not enjoy that summer job.

I don't know about coal mining, but in underground metal mines it is not uncommon for miners to clear over $100,000/year. It can be tough physical work, but many operations rely entirely on equipment and a miner's job is not particularly strenuous. There are inherent dangers in the field just as there are in law enforcement and fire fighting, but like those fields, the world would be a much worse place if mining went away. Unfortunately most people's opinions on the industry and the dangers associated with it are far removed from reality and reflect the state of the industry 50-100 years ago. Mining fatalities are far less common than people believe (72,57,55 for 2006,2005 and 2004 respectively). According to the US Dept. of Labor, in 2006, the fatality rate in mining was not even twice that of transportation and warehousing and less than three times that of construction. Agriculture/forestry/fishing/hunting had a higher fatality rate than mining. Miners commonly remain in the industry for their entire career, because it is good paying, challenging and rewarding work. Some people are skittish and afraid of being underground. Mining is a bad career option for those individuals. There are many people who are not afraid of working in dark, dirty conditions with hazards to contend with. It may seem hard to believe, but getting dirt under your fingernails is not the end of the world.

Orville,I grew up in western Pa. where there were a lot of coal mines. The pay was considered In realityquite good. At a time when the minimum wage was $1.25 an hour the mining jobs were starting at $5.00, so the equivalent now would be about $35 an hour, though I don't know if the pay has kept pace. All the mines then were unionized.But there was never enough money to get me to take a miner's job. I'd see these guys coming out at the end of their shifts and there wasn't a spot on them that wasn't covered in black coal dust. I one met a retired miner with black lung disease and it was pretty disgusting. But the worst of it was that in those days mine safety standards weren't what they are now and we frequently heard stories about miners trapped by cave ins and explosions, usually in West Virginia and Kentucky, but there had been a major one at a mine two miles from my house, though fifty years before I was born. To a kid who got a little paniced by having a tight t-shirt get stuck on his head while taking it off, the idea of being buried alive was just terrifying.

Rafe Swarchenhizer

RE: How much do coal miners make anyway?11/1/2013 10:09AM - in reply to Feed The Family